A Darker Shade of Pink
by whyyesthankyou
Summary: When she approached him in the bar that night, she asked the unthinkable. Not only did she want to join the Akatsuki, she wanted a new life seeking power, full of villainy and sin- and she wants HIM to be her guide. DEI/SAKU, M for safety
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own Naruto. Sad day.**

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**This couple is my new favorite, and the story kinda came to me out of nowhere. Villains are always my favorite, and I love to explore the darker sides of characters. Sakura is jaded, done with decency and just tired of the world in this story. She's still Sakura, but she may seem fairly OOC on account of the turns the story has taken that will all be explained therein. **

**That said, here goes chapter one. Enjoy!

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One thing was certain to Deidara, it had been far too long since he'd had a woman.

"Look at _that._" Kisame's voice next to him gave away that the shark was absolutely inebriated- and horny. Deidara snorted. Like that was odd. He glanced to where Kisame was gracelessly pointing with his index finger. "Ahh I'd like to get me one of those hot little whores to warm my bed tonight."

Kisame, though normally crass, was simply making an observation. The women _were_ whores. After all, Deidara, Kisame and Hidan had found their way into the seediest bar in town on purpose. Their Akatsuki cloaks earned them free drinks in bars like these- and free company. Hidan had disappeared immediately upon entering the bar, saying that drinking was against his religion. Apparently a veritable orgie with a gaggle of hookers who had no idea what they were dealing with was a better usage of time to him. Deidara and Kisame had hit the bar together and already Deidara was regretting it. Usually, he got a kick out of Kisame drunk, but tonight he just wasn't in the mood to hear Kisame drooling over every woman he saw walk by.

"Why don't you go talk to her, yeah." Deidara suggested, tossing back another shot of the cheap, stale whiskey he'd been given. "If you wait too much longer you won't be able to stand up."

Kisame considered drunkenly for a moment, staring at a blonde hooker who currently was seated on the lap of a short, fat little man in the corner of the bar. "S'pose I should take him off her hands, eh?" he chuckled stupidly at his own drunken fumble.

Deidara simply nodded. He'd glanced around the room several times and there didn't seem to be any decent women anywhere. He wasn't desperate enough to bed a hooker. Unlike Kisame and Hidan, he had taste. Sex was another form of highly-valued art in his eyes, and he couldn't make art that belonged anywhere but in a scrap pile with a whore.

He groaned, pouring himself another shot and tossing it back, ignoring the burn. He wasn't getting anywhere in a place like this. Soon enough he knew he'd be approached by one of the house girls, drawn to him by the red clouds of his black cloak, curious no doubt as to what a member of the Akatsuki was like in bed. He smirked. Hidan had taken enough of them upstairs with him to keep them talking for ages, if they made it out of his sexual "ritual" alive, that is.

A crash across the room startled him and he turned around. Kisame had just laid the fat man and his entire party out in a drunken rage, grabbing the blonde woman like she was some sort of ragdoll. Deidara chuckled. Kisame for the life of him could never do low-key.

And then a flash of color caught his eye.

_Pink_ hair. The girl who had just walked in the door had taken down her the hood of her heavy cloak and Deidara instantly recognized her.

Pink hair and large emerald eyes. Her skin was pale but flushed from the cold, her lips quirked surveying the sleazy scene before her.

Deidara remembered her as though he had just seen her yesterday. A few years had passed, but she looked remarkably the same aside from an overall maturing of features. It was that hair and those eyes, they'd struck him when he'd first seen her and he knew he'd always remember.

She was the girl who had killed Sasori.

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Her eyes met his from across the room and a strange look filled them. Puzzlement first, and then a faint recognition, and then the most bizarre look of...elation? She began to make her way to him, her strides purposeful. Deidara blinked a couple of times, trying to clear his head. Was he _that_ drunk or was the kunoichi beelining straight for him? People didn't just _approach_ him, or any of the Akatsuki for that matter, yet here she was. He slipped his hand down to his side and brushed the cold metal of his kunai. If she was crazy enough to attack him in a bar that for all she knew was crawling with Akatsuki, she was even gutsier than he had given her credit for in fighting his old partner.

As she reached him though, he could feel absolutely no killing intent in the slightest. Stranger still, she smiled at him. "Mind if I sit down?" her voice rang out clear as a silver bell and still taken aback, he nodded slowly.

"You're just who I wanted to see." She told him, reaching for his bottle of whiskey. Before he could protest, she raised it to her lips and tipped it back for a long drink.

He watched her in fascination as her eyes watered and she slammed the bottle down.

"I hope that's not the first liquor you've tasted or you'll be out like a light within minutes, yeah." He chuckled. While he'd started out the evening agitated, this turn of events had thrown him off enough to lighten his mood. Was it coincidence that right as he'd been wallowing in self-pity about how long it had been since he'd gotten laid, the beautiful pink-haired kunoichi had stepped into the bar? Of course he had yet to know what the hell she wanted from him, but he could be optimistic.

Or flat out delusional, he chided himself. He didn't have to remind himself that the last time he'd seen the girl he'd made furniture out of her friend and attempted to blow everybody in the vicinity up.

"Whew." The beautiful kunoichi closed her eyes as if to steady herself. "Well, I guess we'll see about that won't we Deidara?"

He wasn't surprised that she knew his name. He was infamous of his own merit after all, and being in the Akatsuki added more to that fame. He tilted his head in her direction, deciding that it was obvious that despite their past interactions, she had absolutely no intent to attack him. If anything she seemed like she was maybe already drunk and that last chug would have her passed out before she could even think to be dangerous.

"We've met before, but I don't remember your name, yeah." he offered apologetically. Maybe it was just her sheer beauty, or the knowledge that she had killed her former rather formidable partner that had him being so good-natured toward her. He wasn't sure himself yet.

"Sakura..." she trailed off as if thinking. "Sakura." she repeated, giving him another small smile. "Nice to 'meet' you."

"Likewise, yeah." He reached over her hands folder in front of her and grabbed his whiskey bottle to pour himself another shot. "So, Sakura...what brings you here tonight?"

He wasn't sure what he was expecting her to say, but what followed threw him for a bigger loop than he had ever expected.

The kunoichi wrung her hands with a nervous chuckle and then met his gaze with eyes that were clear and almost defiant.

"I want to join the Akatsuki."


	2. Chapter 2

**STANDARD DISCLAIMERS ABOUT ME NOT BEING AWESOME ENOUGH TO OWN NARUTO APPLY.**

I'm having fun writing this. Even if it's not the greatest :P**  
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**Enjoy.**

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Deidara stared at her. He thought for a moment he hadn't heard her clearly, but one look into her eyes told him otherwise.

She was completely serious.

"And," she continued after seemingly gaging his reaction. "I want you to be my partner."

Deidara lifted his eyebrow at the girl in front of him incredulously. "Those are a couple of hefty demands to make, yeah. First off, how many shinobi do you think attempt to join the ranks of the Akatsuki regularly? We practically own the known world, yeah. That kind of power is appealing to a lot of people."

"I don't care." Sakura tilted her head, just slightly. "How many of those people are skilled medical ninjas, trained under one of the Legendary Sannin? I know the Akatsuki could use my skills. In fact, I happen to know that the Akatsuki would probably _kill_ for a medical ninja of my caliber."

Deidara gazed at her in shock. She was serious, and this wasn't false bravado. She had the utmost confidence in her abilities, enough to approach him and practically put her life on the line asking to be in the Akatsuki.

"And the part about being your partner...what was the problem there?" she asked, almost sweetly. "I know you currently don't have a partner, and I wouldn't want to be partners with anybody but you."

Deidara felt like he was going to fall out of his chair. How could this night have taken such a strange turn? He'd thought maybe the kunoichi would have tried to attack him, or maybe hit on him. But _this?_ Asking to join the Akatsuki so brazenly, and all but insisting on him taking her as his partner? He felt as though he had gotten wasted enough to be having delusions, that he'd suddenly be jolted from a drunken stupor by the bartender, telling him to go home.

But this was no delusion. The pink-haired woman next to him moved to unlatch her cloak and set it on the stool beside her, revealing a uniform of a black minidress, boots and weapon holsters. Her figure was lithe and wonderfully feminine, the uniform alluded to as much and his imagination could make up for the rest.

"Deidara-san," her clear voice brought him back with the more formal way with which she addressed him. He met her gaze and she cleared her throat. "Take me to Pain, please. I know he won't turn me down. And then...be my partner. I'm a skilled fighter as well as a medic, I definitely won't hold you back."

Deidara raked his hand through his hair, frustrated for a reason he couldn't put his finger on. "I'll take you to Pain, yeah. But be warned, if he doesn't like what you have to say, he'll most likely kill you."

"That won't happen." Her confidence was clear in her voice.

He fixed her with a curious stare. "And as for being your partner...why do you want it to be me so badly, yeah?"

"I remember you," she said, a small smile turning up her lips. "I remember fighting you after killing your partner. After all of these years, you were the Akatsuki member whose name I still remembered. And I remember it for a reason. There are certain things I want to learn...that only _you_ can show me."

Deidara's mouth went dry at her words, his heart began to throb inside of his chest. He didn't know if she had purposefully added implication into her words, but regardless he couldn't resist letting his gaze drop to her full pink lips. What did she _want_ from him? What was he supposed to show her? He let his mind wander to a place where he was on top of her, absolutely blowing her mind with his favorite kind of art. The thought of taking her to bed made him feel weak. It really had been far too long since he'd had a woman if a few implication-laced words sent him spinning this way. He didn't know what his deal was, but for once in his life, Deidara had no idea what the hell to expect.

"Understand my position, yeah." he said finally. "You approach me in this bar, having fought me before as my enemy. I've killed your friends and fellow villagers. You're a Konoha ninja-"

"Was." she interrupted. "I have nothing to do with Konoha anymore. What I want-" she paused, glancing down at her hands folded once again in front of her. "Please..take me to Pain. If you will, and will have me as your partner...I'll explain everything in due time. You can take my word for it. I won't hold back from telling you anything you want to know."

Deidara could sense in her a desperation that she was trying hard to hide. Her green eyes were large with sincerity, her lips pursed with unconscious tension. For whatever reason, this girl who had once been the kind of person who fearlessly defended everything she believed to be right and "good", wanted a pass to the underbelly of the world, and she wanted him to be the one that led her there.

Deidara tore his eyes from hers, reaching for his now nearly empty liquor bottle. He turned it in his hands a few times, biting his lip. What did he have to lose? Pain wouldn't turn this girl down- she'd been right, they _were_ in need of a medic-nin. And besides, having her as a partner could be...fun. Interesting to say the least. Anything could happen between them in the kinds of situations they'd be put in together. It would be a relief to break up the veritable Sausage Fest that was the Akatsuki.

He brought the bottle to his lips, not bothering to pour himself a shot, and downed the rest of its contents.

"I'll take your offer, yeah." he told her finally, allowing himself to look back in her direction. Her face was so expressive, he could see relief on her features at once, followed with a slight look of resignation that was quickly overwhelmed by excitement. _She knows there's no turning back now. _He smirked at her. "I don't think you realize just what you're in for, being my partner."

"I probably don't." she agreed, lifting her finger to alert the bartender that she wanted another drink. "And it's the best feeling I've had in years."

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Four hours after he'd been approached in the bar by the mysterious kunoichi, Deidara now lay by her side in bed, still wondering how the hell this had happened and if it was real. One glance at her sleeping form assured him it _was_ real. Sakura was lying next to him, she was going to be his partner. He chuckled and shook his head. _Damn, life comes at you fast._

After they'd shared a few more drinks together, Sakura and Deidara had headed back to the hotel he was staying in together. She'd been acting sultry and flirty all night, but especially after she had a few drinks in her. She'd stumbled into him a few times and he'd helped her walk. He was almost certain that she was going to try to come on to him when they'd reached his room, but instead she'd seemed to get a little down, as though the true weight of what she'd done had finally hit her. She'd asked, in a small voice, if she could sleep in bed with him and he hadn't given sex with her another thought. He felt slightly sorry for her. Obviously she'd undergone an immense change the past few years. But this was what she'd wanted, what _she'd _ decided. He would take her to Pain and make her his partner, and he would show her anything and everything she wanted to be shown. He stole another glance at her peaceful sleeping face, wondering once again if her implication had been real or she'd just been trying to flatter him into taking her as his partner.

Deidara was no stranger to women and sex. He'd enjoyed women all the more since the Akatsuki had come into such power. They threw themselves at him in droves, begging him to take them to bed. He always had his pick of the most beautiful women and he always sent them on their way from his bed shaking with satisfaction and desperate for more. The pink-haired kunoichi was certainly one of the most beautiful women he'd seen, and he wouldn't mind at all making her shake with satisfaction.

_Snap out of it,_ he scolded himself. It had obviously simply been much too long since he'd had a woman. Fixating on having sex with Sakura would do him no good- after all, being partners would require them to work together and who knew how sex would affect their working relationship. He rolled over and quietly rose from the bed, taking care not to wake Sakura. Deidara was going to find himself a woman right now to sate his lust. He was going to comb the streets and bars until he found one and banged her silly, and then he could return and his annoying interest in Sakura would subside.

He was sure of it...

Almost.


	3. Chapter 3

** STANDARD DISCLAIMERS ABOUT ME NOT BEING AWESOME ENOUGH TO OWN NARUTO APPLY.**

**I'm sick, so I'm updating a lot sooner than I'd anticipated! Bad for me, good for you!**

**Enjoy.**

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"Who the hell is this?"

It was the next morning. Deidara and Sakura had risen early to meet up with Kisame and Hidan to head back to Akatsuki headquarters, and the latter was looking at her like she was some sort of freak or anomaly.

"What does it look like, dumbass?" Kisame grunted, hoisting Samehada over his shoulder. Deidara could tell the shark was hung over, yet even hung over he was fairly good-natured.

"She's going to join the Akatsuki." Deidara put in, glancing at Sakura. She was studying Hidan with a slight smile on her face, not the least bit intimidated.

"The last I heard of you, you were rotting alive in a hole," she said pleasantly.

Deidara started- Kisame for his part, simply grinned wider.

"Just a short-term delay in my immortality, bitch." Hidan snorted, but Deidara was surprised to find that he didn't seem all that pissed that she'd mentioned his defeat by that Konoha brat years before- most likely because in the end, Hidan had killed him anyway.

Kisame chose this moment to butt in. "I'm Kisame." he extended a massive hand toward Sakura.

"Sakura." she shook his hand and gave him a smile that could have charmed the pants off of anyone, Deidara supposed. It seemed to work on Kisame, he gave her a big grin back. "You ever flown before, pinkie?"

"No," she said. She gave Deidara a grin that had his heart beginning to pound like crazy. Inwardly, he cursed himself. Still, this morning, he was reacting to her like this? He'd banged the hell out of a woman whose name he didn't bother asking for last night, pushing them both to the edge over and over again, hoping it would help him resist the kunoichi's charms. Apparently, it hadn't worked. At all.

"Are we going to fly?" Sakura asked. "I've seen your clay birds before. I'd love to ride one."

Deidara broke her gaze and looked off into the distance as though he was seeing something really interesting. "We'll fly, yeah. But Hidan and Kisame, you'll ride together and Sakura and I will ride together. I don't feel like wasting clay because you two think you're too masculine to share."

Hidan's eyes narrowed dangerously. "How about you ride with Kisame and I'll ride with the bitch? Two girls on one bird doesn't seem all that fair."

Deidara ignored him, reaching into his sack of clay with both hands. He had bigger things to concern himself with than Hidan's insults- such as why the hell he couldn't tear his eyes away from Sakura's ass, or her legs, or her eyes...or any other part of her body.

He formed the seal that made his birds full-sized, feeling altogether too pleased for his own liking at Sakura's little gasp of approval. Jumping on one of the birds, he gestured to Sakura to do the same, and she did so with a smile on her face.

"Wrap your arms around my waist, yeah." Deidara instructed.

She seemed to hesitate only momentarily before gently putting her arms around him. He tried to ignore the heat that spiked up and down his body at her touch. "You'll want to hold on tightly, yeah. Otherwise you're not going to make it off the ground."

"O-okay." Sakura's arms around him tightened.

"Grab him a little lower," Hidan sneered from his place on the other bird behind Kisame. "That's what he wants you to do."

"I'll grab lower if you grab lower," Sakura's sweet voice rang out the insult like music and Deidara stifled a laugh.

Hidan's eyes narrowed. "Fu-"

Before they could bother to hear the rest of his tirade, Deidara took off into the sky. Sakura's arms tightened around him so hard it actually hurt for a moment and he heard her let out a little squeak. But only a moment later, her arms around him loosened considerably and when he stole a look back at her the look of sheer joy on her face gave him a thrill he didn't expect.

It was too windy for them to exchange words. Besides, Deidara was struggling enough concentrating on flying with Sakura all but wrapped around him. Completely unconsciously, her hold on him had slipped gradually lower, and though it wasn't low enough to really matter at all, Deidara was having an impossible time keeping his mind out of places that didn't include Sakura naked and him on top of Sakura.

Finally, they reached the Akatsuki headquarters. No longer was it necessary for the Akatsuki to hide. Leader-sama had moved the headquarters to a veritable palace in the countryside of the Fire country. They landed in what Konan had dubbed the "Courtyard", followed swiftly by Kisame and Hidan who quickly dismounted, looking around as though worried about who had seen them arrive with Hidan clinging to Kisame for dear life.

"Fucking lunatic-" Hidan muttered, brushing his cloak off. "Last time I ride a giant clay bird with that _fish_-"

Kisame grinned at Deidara and Sakura as they dismounted, rubbing the top of Sakura's head like she was some kid. "How'd you like your first flight, pinkie?"

Sakura didn't seem to mind his rubbing the top of her head or the obnoxious nickname. "It was wonderful," she said.

"Well, _princess, _the less wonderful part of your day is about to start." Hidan sneered. "Good luck meeting with Pain. We'll see you after if he doesn't kill you."

Kisame and Hidan headed inside bitching at each other like a couple of little girls. Deidara turned to Sakura, curious if Hidan's words had scared her at all.

She stood, wringing her hands and biting her lip, staring at the building in front of her.

"Don't tell me you're losing all that courage you had last night now, yeah." Deidara said.

Sakura met his gaze, shaking her head, and he was shocked by the amount of fire in her eyes. "Definitely not," she said. "Let's go."

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**Author's Note:**

To those who read and are amazing enough to review :), I'm considering writing from both Deidara AND Sakura's POV from now on...if you have any preference either way, let me know...as of now I'm on the fence about it.

Thanks for reading!


	4. Chapter 4

**I still don't and won't ever own Naruto. Thxbye.**

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_**So, sorry it's been awhile. I've been busy but I'm totally determined to keep updating this as much as possible. Thanks so much for the reviews! I hope you enjoy this next bit...I haven't written much the last few weeks so sorry ahead of time if it's a bit jumpy.**_

_**Enjoy!**_

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"Hurano Sakura," Pain's smooth voice was light in greeting. "This is a surprise."

"It's just Sakura," she corrected him. From her seat next to him, Konan arched an eyebrow. Deidara was surprised that Sakura had dared to correct Pain. Was she totally and completely nuts? He glanced at her sideways, trying to look confident and not like he was feeling that bringing her to Pain may have been really stupid and potentially dangerous for him after all.

Pain, however, didn't look surprised or annoyed at her correction. He almost looked pleased. "Sakura-san, then." He inclined his head toward her. "Deidara has informed me of your desire to join the Akatsuki."

"That is my desire, yes." Sakura didn't sound at all nervous. Deidara tried not to look her way again, instead focusing on Pain's many piercings, wondering to himself for what must have been the millionth time _just how many_ the guy had. In his face alone he had a dozen at least.

"I'm a valuable asset to your organization," Sakura continued, not waiting for Pain to speak. "Medical ninjas like myself are not common. As you well know, my master was Tsunade, the former Hokage of Konoha. She herself stated that my aptitude in the medical field was comparable to her own."

Konan said nothing, but Deidara could feel her suspicion. Surely Pain was suspicious as well. Sakura would have to tell them a lot more than she'd told him last night concerning why she wanted to join the Akatsuki and why they could trust her, that was certain.

"Your skills are not what I question," Pain said. "It is your motive. You are correct in gathering that the Akatsuki is in need of a medical ninja. But given your past and your loyalty to Konoha, you can understand my doubt, I'm sure."

"I understand your doubt completely. I can't offer you much other than my promise of my services and loyalty. You can keep an eye on me, restrict my privileges at first until I've proved myself. I can give you my word that I care nothing for what happened to my former village. I no longer believe what I used to. I no longer have any ties there."

Konan leaned over to Pain and whispered something in his ear. Deidara glanced at Sakura again. Still not a hint of nervousness on her face. Did she not fear for her life at all? The more he studied her, the more he gathered by the ease of her posture and calmness in her eyes that maybe it wasn't so much that she was sure of her success, but that she just didn't _care_ what happened to her. Maybe it was more that she knew Pain might reject her offer and kill her, but it didn't matter to her either way.

"Deidara." Pain's voice cut through his thought process and he tore his eyes from Sakura reluctantly. "Sakura-san will be your partner. It will be your job to keep watch of her and everything she does while she is first here. Due to the nature of your past," he addressed Sakura now, "I will restrict you as I see fit until you have proven your loyalty to the Akatsuki. The other members will keep an eye on you as well. Deidara will inform me of anything he judges to be unfitting with what you have promised. We will work out sleeping arrangements so that you can be watched at all times. You _will_ be giving up your freedom for some time, Sakura-san. You _will _be little more than a prisoner at first. I trust that is not a problem for you."

Sakura's face lit with a radiant smile. Her eyes met Deidara's with such excitement that it shocked him. He felt somehow like a co-conspirator with her, like they had planned for this all along. He was a little surprised at how quickly Pain at decided to allow her to stay. They must _really _need Sakura. He had to fight not to grin back at her.

"Thank you, Pain-sama." She bowed slightly. "It will be no problem at all."

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"I want to meet the others," Sakura told Deidara. After leaving their meeting with Pain, he'd shown her her new room-adjoining to his as all partner rooms in the place were. The reasoning behind this had always baffled Deidara. What had Pain's intention been, having everyone's rooms connected? Late night pajama parties? Emergency missions in the middle of the night? Both were ridiculous and thus far, neither had happened. Once Hidan had remarked that not everybody slept with their partner, and Pain had sort of beat the shit out of him. The adjoining rooms hadn't been mentioned since.

Deidara supposed that in this situation it worked out pretty well, considering he was all but babysitting Sakura for the first who knew _how_ long that she was there. He wasn't sure if he was more excited or annoyed by the prospect of being around the kunoichi nearly 24/7.

"You don't want to settle in at all first?" He finally asked her. Her request to meet the other members straight off struck him as weird. He'd figured she'd want a bit of "alone time" after being with him since she'd approached him last night.

"I can do that later," she said. She met his eyes and offered a small smile. "And anyway, I'm kind of hungry."

Deidara instantly felt like an asshole. Of course she'd be hungry. Last night after going out and ravaging the hell out of that woman, he'd eaten at a dingy diner before returning home. He hadn't even thought of breakfast this morning because he'd been too fixed on how much ravaging the hell out of the woman _hadn't _helped his annoying draw toward Sakura. Now she'd gone without a meal since drinking last night and more than likely felt like total shit. And yet she'd hardly stopped smiling since he'd met her.

"Let's go to the kitchen, yeah. Somebody else will more than likely be there, and we can fix you something to eat."

Sakura nodded and fell into step beside him. Deidara tried not to glance at her too often, but he couldn't help himself. Her eyes pored over the hallway, studying each door they passed with a remote, withdrawn look of curiosity. He felt like he should say something, but he wasn't sure what. Finally, he said the first thing that came to his mind. "I'm pretty sure you've already met everybody."

"Mmm," she replied. "I suppose I have. Except for Zetsu."

He glanced at her, surprised she was aware that the plant man was still alive. "He's rarely here."

"Makes sense."

When they reached the kitchen, Deidara was relieved to find Hidan bustling around, making himself God-knew-what to eat. The last time Hidan had cooked for everyone, nearly all of them had gone hungry because they had all felt it was better to skip a meal than ingest meat as raw as what Hidan had prepared for them. His love of blood didn't translate well into the realm of cooking.

"Oi. Why don't you make Sakura-san something to eat while you're at it?" Deidara called out, leaning against the door frame. He desperately wanted to have some time to himself to sort out his thoughts. It was becoming more and more evident every time he looked at Sakura and took stock of his reactions to her that he needed to blow something up. Now.

Hidan turned to face them, his eyes lingering on Sakura for a moment with a quizzical look before turning to Deidara. "She's still here?"

"What does it look like, yeah?" Deidara smirked at him.

Hidan shrugged. "I thought the bitch would be dead after meeting with Pain. Yeah, I'll make her something. I hope you don't mind your steak rare, _princess_."

Sakura's walk was practically a saunter as she made her way to Hidan. Deidara noticed the way he looked at her and almost smiled at the challenging way she stopped right beside him and met his gaze. "As a matter of fact, the more rare, the better." She said.

Deidara almost wanted to stay and tell Hidan to forget it, that _he'd _make her something instead. He wasn't sure he liked way Hidan was leering at Sakura, and he also wasn't sure Sakura would live another day after eating whatever the hell Hidan decided to whip up for her. But he couldn't kick the nagging feeling that having these kinds of thoughts was stupid, annoying and ultimately would get him into more trouble than anything else, so why not start dismissing them right now? Sakura could eat all the raw meat she wanted. Hell, she could _fuck_ Hidan for all he cared. It didn't matter to him.

He wouldn't _let_ it matter to him.


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Naruto.**

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"Katsu." He muttered, sending hundreds of little woman-shaped clay figures exploding into the beautiful chaos of spark and smoke he loved so much. Distantly, he acknowledged that the clay figures looked something like Sakura. Less distantly, he knew that was pretty screwed up.

He'd been at this for two hours now. The sun hovered above him, hot rays mercilessly beating down until in frustration he'd ripped off his black and red clouded Akatsuki cloak. Now he stood in his pants and mesh shirt, the clay in his bags running low (of course, was he _ever_ prepared?) and wondering what the hell he was going to do.

It had certainly been easier when he'd been partnered with Sasori. Although Sasori had never wanted to acknowledge his art and was a pretty big asshole, at least he hadn't been sexually attracted to Sasori. The idea made him chuckle, and then angrily begin digging for more clay. Why the hell was he so fixated on Sakura? Fixated enough that blowing things up was hardly distracting him at all? Nothing distracted him from his art, ever. Anything that did had to be done away with.

Another clay figure of a woman. Another mutter. Another explosion. Another flash of Sakura's face.

He clenched his fists.

What was it about her that had gotten so deep under his skin? Her candy-colored hair, excited eyes and beautiful body, outlined so well in her uniform, hit his mind again and again in waves of desire. The thoughts of her were relentless. The last of his clay he formed again into that same figure of a woman. Once again, he watched the explosion and found his mind wandering.

Deidara raked his hands through his hair, freeing its tie unconsciously. He had to do something about this. The last time anything had taken this much of his attention from his own art, he'd vowed with everything he had to get rid of it.

And in a way, he'd succeeded.

Killing Sasuke Uchiha had been a highlight in his life he'd never forget. Finally, he'd been free from that wretched Sharingan he'd been so captured by. He'd finally been at peace.

Well, not anymore. Sakura, with her careless zeal for life and unique physical beauty had broken the floodgates of turmoil within him once more. And he couldn't take it.

He'd have to kill her.

* * *

Adjoining rooms served their purposes after all, he observed wryly. In case one partner wanted to kill the other in the middle of the night, they were actually wonderfully convenient. Deidara had made his way back to the Akatsuki headquarters after night had fallen, knowing that Pain was going to rip him a new one for not staying with Sakura but not really caring. All he knew was he was going to go into his room, grab a kunai, let himself into Sakura's room and stab her in the heart while she slept. He wasn't much for planning, so he wasn't sure what precisely he would tell Pain the next morning but he'd figure something out. All that mattered now was freeing himself from this shithole he'd fallen into the moment she'd first said his name.

As he quietly made his way down the hall, he heard Hidan and Kisame's voices coming from the common room. The bizarre cadence of Kisame's voice told Deidara that once again, he was drunk. Hidan, who never drank _always_ sounded wasted anyway.

"I had her thrown over the bed with her ankles in her earrings!" Kisame roared before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Two seconds was all it took-"

"Two seconds is all you'd _last-"_

"Shut the hell up. Oi! Deidara!"

Deidara pretended not to hear the drunken shark and continued on to his room. He was fairly sure killing intent was _radiating _from his body by now, despite his best efforts to keep it under control. He'd been lucky it had only been Hidan and Kisame awake. If Leader had been anywhere nearby he'd be screwed.

Quietly, he entered his room and didn't bother turning on the light. He tripped over something making his way toward the window, where the waning moon's pale light flickered in and scattered broken across the floor. His weapons were all on the table by the window. His kunai was all he'd need to kill the sleeping Sakura.

He felt a trickle of shame at the thought of killing a sleeping enemy. It was like attacking someone whose back was turned but a million times worse. Still, he tried to reason, it wasn't cowardice it was efficiency. Killing Sakura when she was awake would just cause problems. _Especially because you're not sure you could do it, _a smug voice inside his head whispered.

Oh, he'd do it alright. He'd stab her straight in the heart and never look back on it. Even if she _were _awake. Even if those bright green eyes were smiling right at him he'd kill her without hesitation.

Grabbing his kunai, he made his way silently across the room to the adjoining door. He listened for a moment, waiting for any indication that the kunoichi was still awake. After a few moments of silence, he slowly turned the doorknob and all but tiptoed into her room.

He felt like a jackass, tiptoeing around like a kid playing hide-and-seek. Sakura's room seemed even darker than his own somehow, and when he rammed his hipbone into her bedside table that had seemed to jump out at him out of nowhere, he hissed in pain.

His eyes fell on her sleeping form and his breath caught annoyingly in his chest. She was half covered by a white sheet, lying on her back. He took a few steps closer. The way her pale skin glowed in the moonlight, the rise and fall of her chest, her long pink hair splayed on the pillow. She was wearing just her little black shorts and undershirt, and she looked so peaceful and beautiful...the angles of her face, the curves of her body...she was a work of art.

_Shit._ He thought. _Shit. Shit. Shit._ Here he was, in her room, clutching his kunai for dear life and he couldn't stop admiring her once more. She was an entirely different kind of vision asleep than awake, and his hungry artist's eyes couldn't get enough. He cursed them, and he cursed his blood for racing inside his veins at the sight of her bare skin. The Sharingan had nothing on Sakura.

"Kakashi..." the breathy whisper fell from her sleeping lips and hit him like a slap in the face. Had she really just moaned the Copy Ninja's name in her sleep? Deidara's jaw clenched and he took another step so that he was close enough to plunge the kunai into her heart. What the hell was she saying that blasted Copy Ninja's name in her sleep for? Better yet, why the HELL did he care?

"Kaka-shi..." she whispered again, stirring only slightly. Her eyes partly opened and rested on him and a tiny smile graced her lips. "You came back." she mumbled.

Deidara froze, the hand with the kunai still at waist level. Sakura's eyes fluttered closed again. He could tell she wasn't fully conscious.

He still had no idea why she'd joined the Akatsuki. She had, however, promised to tell him everything in good time. Her sleep-talking and calling him Kakashi only elevated his curiosity about what had happened to her to cause her to defect from her village and all that she cared about to join the Akatsuki, and he found himself stuffing the kunai into his cloak pocket rather irritably.

If he killed her now, he'd never know why she'd approached him in the bar. He told himself that was the _true _ reason he was going to hold off on killing her, and not because she was the most beautiful work of art he'd ever seen. No, nothing like that.

He'd find out why she'd requested to join the Akatsuki, and then he'd kill her. And that would be that.

* * *

_A few of you are probably wondering why the hell Deidara wants to kill Sakura. Like I mentioned in the first chapter, I like darker twists in stories and so while his wanting to kill her is done somewhat comically, he REALLY does want to kill her. But hey, he wants to kill her because he likes her so that makes it better, right? ;)_

_This story doesn't follow along with the manga or anime, or obviously Deidara wouldn't still be alive. Everything WILL be explained, especially why Sakura is the way she is. It's just going to take time :) I'm writing this purely for fun, so again I apologize if it's not as fantastic as others out there. Still, if I'm enjoying writing it and just a few people are enjoying reading it, I figure I'm doing okay._

_Thanks all for reading!  
_


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